Osceola, Hagerty grapple with FHSAA challenges
When the Florida High School Athletic Association added its wrestling duals state tournament five years ago, there were some mixed reactions from coaches, but for the most part it was well received.
Some still prefer the individual bracket tournament (coming up in March) while others like the team aspect of the dual match series, where every starter can contribute. But it’s likely that all 24 coaches whose teams advanced to this weekend’s dual championships tournament at Osceola High School in Kissimmee are glad to have a high-level tournament experience midway through their seasons.
The coaches of the two Orlando area Class 3A teams that qualified feel that way.
Hagerty secured its spot to Friday’s 6 p.m. state quarterfinal round after topping Timber Creek 46-40 last week. The Huskies will face Flagler Palm Coast, which edged Hagerty 42-36 earlier this season. The Bulldogs are No. 5 in the KabraWrestling. com 3A rankings.
Huskies coach Scotty Diaz likes the team format and said his will use the duals experience as more preparation for the rest of the season.
“Duals are more fan friendly with parents knowing where to look. It’s easy to watch and root for your school,” he said. “We have a very good team, but we’re very young.”
The young wrestlers Diaz has in his lineup are sophomores Carson Greenier (120pound weight class), Logan Acey-Kriegshauser (126), Connor Gilliam (182) and Hunter Tate (195), as well as freshman Gavin Nelson at 145 pounds.
“We had five freshmen with four of them back as sophomores and they’re coming along,” Diaz said. “The experience in the duals is helpful. Every one of these teams is super tough. The kids get to be in a big, tough meet midway through the year, so the individual state meet later isn’t too big for them.”
One of those fellow tough teams is sixth-ranked Osceola on the other side of the eight-team bracket. The Kowboys face No. 2 Palmetto Ridge on Friday at 6 p.m.
Veteran Osceola coach Jim Bird led his team to state duals runner-up finish in 2019 and the Kowboys have qualified in all five years of the tournament. Bird is looking forward to the atmosphere in his home gym despite the uphill climb his team is facing.
“We’ll be an underdog by about 30 points in our first match, but our guys will battle,” Bird said. “It will be a good test for us, but it will be a fun time. It brings back the teamwork concept with the older guys helping the young guys.”
It might not be quite as fun as the tournament the
Kowboys competed in last weekend. They made their third appearance in the Escape the Rock Tournament at Council Rock South High School in Holland Bucks County of Pennsylvania.
“It was a fun weekend to provide some camaraderie,” Bird said. “They got to have some Philly cheesesteaks, it was like 5 degrees outside and they threw snowballs at each other. Some of them had never seen snow before.”
Among the wrestlers Osceola will have competing are a pair of individual state champs and a runner-up. Anderson Heap (126) was state runner-up last year as a freshman. Gunnar Holland (160) won a state title last year as a freshman and junior Cooper Haase has won back-to-back state titles in his first two high school seasons.
The favorite to claim the 3A title on Saturday is once again South Dade, which has dominated the highest classification for eight years. The Buccaneers won the first four duals state meets and have won the individual bracket tournament title each year since 2015.
The 1A and 2A tournaments also will be contested over two days in Kissimmee.